by Josef Bachmeier
Daily Lobo
About 100 people turned out to listen to a powerful array of speakers present their sentiments concerning cultural groups and ethnicities that are often associated with issues of Chicano identity at a campus symposium Friday.
The "Politics of Chicano Identity in the 21st Century" was full of strong speeches and distinct opinions given by six panelists from throughout the southwest in Dane Smith Hall.
Chicano, which is often associated with the political movement bearing the same name, is becoming more of a universal term, but Ignacio Martinez of the Student Organization for Latin American Studies at UNM, said there is still ambiguity in how people from various ethnicities define themselves.
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"There is a lot of ambiguity," Ignacio Martinez said. "The point of the conference was to try and form a [more universal] identity."
Agreeing with Ignacio Martinez, panelist Jose Angel Gutierrez of the University of Texas, Arlington, listed labels such as Chicano, Latino, Mexican-American, Hispanic, among many others, that often blur identity.
Likewise, he said, there should be a focus on finding a common identity and the forging of a Chicano political identity and middle class.
"Take pride in your identity," Gutierrez said.
Also among the speakers was local Chicano activist Sofia Martinez, also a doctoral student at UNM.
Martinez presented a wide range of topics and posed various questions concerning political activism, community organizing and academic advancement.
Though her fellow speakers focused heavily on uniting all who consider themselves Chicanos, Sofia Martinez approached the topic from a different perspective.
"Is it really an issue of identity or is it an issue of where you stand?" Sofia Martinez said.
Other issues she touched on included change in local communities and support of alternative and independent media.
"We need to organize and work for peace, with justice, for all people," Sofia Martinez said.
Pounding the podium with emphasis, Armando Navarro, professor of Ethnic Studies at the University of California-Riverside, stressed new leadership among the Chicano and Hispanic ethnicities throughout his speech.
"We're at a critical juncture," Navarro said. "We have to reorganize and remobilize."
Among the other speakers were Bazan Romero, professor of UNM American Studies; Charles Truxillo, professor of Chicano/a Studies at UNM; and Antoinette Sedillo Lopez, associate dean for Clinical Affairs and professor of Law at UNM.
In respect to UNM and local Chicano population, Ignacio Martinez said he would like to see more unity and an advancement of information.
"I would like to see more information out there," Ignacio Martinez said. "Any attempt to bring unity would be an optimal way of achieving a more universal identity in the future."
